Minister: Israel may grant citizenship to former Lebanese militia members

Published July 16th, 2003 - 03:00 GMT

Former members of the disbanded pro-Israeli South Lebanon Army (SLA) may be granted Israeli citizenship, Israel’s Interior Minister Avraham Poraz told

Former members of the disbanded pro-Israeli South Lebanon Army (SLA) may be granted Israeli citizenship, Israel’s Interior Minister Avraham Poraz told Haaretz in an interview published on Wednesday.

The minister told the Tel-Aviv based paper he did not "rule out the possibility that members of the South Lebanon Army who fought on the side of Israel and want to acquire Israeli citizenship will be able to do so."

"We have to help them in all areas, whether they want to stay in Israel or not," it quoted Poraz as saying. "We have a moral obligation toward them." (Albawaba.com)